The 10 Do’s & Don’ts With Your Old Jeans!

denim training

Don’t Leave Your Jeans In Your Closet

Probably everyone recognizes that you have a few denim favorites in your wardrobe that you want to wear each day or each week. But there are also denim pieces that are laying in your closet for such a long time without wearing them. Sometimes this is because you can’t fit them anymore, you simply don’t like the cut of the jeans anymore, or sometimes it’s just because you’re having too many options to wear and you always take the one that feels the most comfortable.

There can be multiple reasons why you aren’t wearing a specific pair of jeans anymore. The worst is when you’re having great denim styles with many wear days left resting in your closet for a long(er) time. Jeans that are there just to fill up your closet and are only getting more dust on them instead of seeing daylight now and then.

For those pairs there’s simply 1 x BIG DON’T that covers everything: Don’t leave your jeans unworn in your closet if you haven’t worn them for already a year or so. Realistically, you will probably never put the jeans on anymore…So, therefore it’s time to focus on the 10 x DO’S that you can do with these jeans.

10 x DO’S options here below and hopefully, they will give you inspiration for your unworn pairs of jeans!

10 x DO’S With Your Old Pair Of Jeans:

#1) Wear It: This is the easiest of all of course. Fall in love with your jeans again, and start wearing them as there must be something cool about the pair, otherwise, why you bought them in the first place? Also, if there’s a hole or rip in your pair, repair it and start wearing it again!

#2) Charity: Give your jeans to a charity that helps people with less or no money. There’s always someone in need of money that will be very happy to receive a free pair of jeans to wear these days.

#3) Re-design: Tweak the jeans’ fit so you can start wearing them again, like taper the jeans from the knee to the ankle for a slimmer cut so it matches better with your footwear for example.

#4) Customize: Add patches or embroideries on your jeans so it feels and looks like wearing a new pair of jeans. You can make a statement, like the hippies in the 1960s and 1970s.

#5) Upcycling: Upcycle your old jeans into a new item like a tote bag, pillow for your couch, coasters for your beers, pouch for your pens, or something else so it stays with you forever.

#6) Donate A Friend: Give your jeans (or trade them) to a friend who’s happy to wear the jeans so they can enjoy a long life. Good thing is that you’re seeing your jeans again now and then ; )

#7) Frame It: Frame your old pair of jeans as a true piece of art. Especially when you have worn it many times and the jeans remind you of all the adventures you made together.

#8) Recycling: There are more and more collecting points nowadays where you can bring your old jeans so they can recycle your jeans into new yarns to make new denim fabrics for future jeans. This way keeps your jeans in eternal life!

#9) Sell It: You can also list your old jeans on platforms such as Vinted, eBay, Grailed, or Etsy to make some money with them. It gives your jeans a second life.

#10) Denim Contest: If all the 9 x DO’S here above don’t stimulate you digging out your denim closet, maybe this is the one! Go with your old pair of jeans to your closest denim store and organize a ‘Denim Hanging Contest’, so a contest for visitors of the store who can hang the longest at your jeans (hang your jeans in an installation of course). Fun is guaranteed and the denim store has a nice old-school activation!


Learn More About Denim!

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Read it here: 10 Fun Facts You Need To Know About Denim

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Read it here: 10 Important Years You Need To Know About The ‘Big 3’ Denim Brands (Levi’s, Lee & Wrangler)

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Read it here: 5 Misconceptions About Denim You Need To Know

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Read it here: 5 Reasons Why You Need Skilled Denim Store Staff These Days


In case you want to learn more about denim, this to train yourself, store or brand staff, send me an e-mail to: wouter@long-john.nl to discuss the opportunities how we can achieve this. I’m happy to learn you more about denim!

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